This is my response to Cheney's speech from 5/21/2009

Lies, upon lies, upon lies.

Lie #1:
Cheney: "Throughout the 90s, America had responded to these attacks, if at all, on an ad hoc basis."

The facts:
Beginning on Aug. 7, 1998, the day that al Qaeda destroyed the U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Clinton directed a campaign of increasing scope and lethality against bin Laden's network that carried through his final days in office.

In addition to a secret "finding" to authorize covert action, which has been reported before, Clinton signed three highly classified Memoranda of Notification expanding the available tools. In succession, the president authorized killing instead of capturing bin Laden, then added several of al Qaeda's senior lieutenants, and finally approved the shooting down of private civilian aircraft on which they flew.

The Clinton administration ordered the Navy to maintain two Los Angeles-class attack submarines on permanent station in the nearest available waters, enabling the U.S. military to place Tomahawk cruise missiles on any target in Afghanistan within about six hours of receiving the order.

Three times after Aug. 20, 1998, when Clinton ordered the only missile strike of his presidency against bin Laden's organization, the CIA came close enough to pinpointing bin Laden that Clinton authorized final preparations to launch. In each case, doubts about the intelligence aborted the mission.

The CIA's directorate of operations recruited, trained, paid or equipped surrogate forces in Pakistan, Uzbekistan and among tribal militias inside Afghanistan, with the common purpose of capturing or killing bin Laden. The Pakistani channel, disclosed previously in The Washington Post, and its Uzbek counterpart, which has not been reported before, never bore fruit. Inside Afghanistan, tribal allies twice reported to their CIA handlers that they fought skirmishes with bin Laden's forces, but they inflicted no verified damage.

Operatives of the CIA's Special Activities Division made at least one clandestine entry into Afghanistan in 1999. They prepared a desert airstrip to extract bin Laden, if captured, or to evacuate U.S. tribal allies, if cornered. The Special Collection Service, a joint project of the CIA and the National Security Agency, also slipped into Afghanistan to place listening devices within range of al Qaeda's tactical radios.

In August 1998, just after the Kenya and Tanzania embassy bombings, the Clinton administration responded with Tomahawk missile strikes against alleged bin Laden training camps in Afghanistan, and a pharmaceutical plant outside Khartoum.According to a State Department official, after a December 1996 report showed heavy security around the plant…

"We had previously collected samples from other suspected sites in Sudan," the official said, "but only the sample from the Shifa facility tested positively for chemical weapons precursors. We know of no other factors in the environment that could result in a positive EMPTA signature."

(EMPTA O-Ethyl Methylphosphonothioic Acid (VX Nerve Gas precursor))

Not only did the Republicans accuse Clinton of exaggerating the threat, it was they that not only failed to act at all against Al Queda in the first 9 months of the Bush presidency, but they gave the Taliban MILLIONS OF DOLLARS even after they destroyed historically priceless ancient world artifacts. You see, they actually saw eye to eye with the radical theocracy that was overtly protecting Bin Laden with it's sovereignty.

Lie #2:
"We'd just been hit by a foreign enemy - leaving 3,000 Americans dead, more than we lost at Pearl Harbor."

He is technically correct, in that 2,402 people died in the attack against Pearl Harbor. The lie is in the mischaracterization of the comparison. You see, the reason Pearl Harbor completed the US's entry into World War 2 (everyone should know this, but it's amazing how I've never heard any of the shill talking heads mention this) is that Japan had substantially hurt the US's ability to DEFEND IT'S WEST COAST AGAINST INVASION! People realized that if Japan had taken the time to set up supply lines and mount a sustained attack, instead of what ended up being a comakaze attack that was not sustainable, then our national security would TRULY be threatened.THERE IS NO COMPARISON! Though 9/11 was undoubtedly a deplorable act, we have NOT BEEN IN DANGER OF INVASION. Our sovereignty has never been at stake! This mischaracteration of our state of national security is nothing but a cowardly lie by those we put in a position of ultimate trust, in order to push their political agenda.

Lie #3:
"Everyone expected a follow-on attack."

The only reason anyone would have to realistically fear another attack is the rhetorical paranoid fear mongering, likely brought on by guilty consciences and political opportunism of the Bush administration. Don't get me wrong, ANYONE who is attacked by surprise will jump at shadows immediately after, however reasonable people see this for what it is and overcome such feelings with reason. There was not one bit of intelligence ANYWHERE, either before or immediately after that suggested that another attack was coming. On the other hand, there was substantial intelligence pointing to the attacks that DID take place.The truth of the matter is (as documented by even the whitewashed 9/11 comission), it was not the intelligence agencies that failed to see danger and report it. It was the executive branch that failed to compile and act upon the data... or act at all in a concerted way against terrorism for the previous 9 months. There are good reasons that domestic and foreign intelligence are separated. It is the Executive branch's JOB to take the information and act upon it. To this day there has been NO public evidence of a credible threat even as serious as 9/11, which as I've already made clear, was no Pearl Harbor. This is not to say that terrorism is not a substantial threat, but especially since Cheney insists on being so militant, let's talk of this in straight military terms: Terrorism is, was, and probably always be a threat of collateral damage. It is NOT a credible threat of invasion. Now, I can hear the empty rhetoric bubbling up now: Would you subject yourself and your love ones to a reasonable risk of unforeseen collateral damage in order to preserve our principles of Freedom as espoused in the United States Constitution? And I would reply, (as any American rightfully should) with a resounding YES! As a matter of fact, coming from a family with a rich military tradition (5 members of my immediate family (out of a total of 7) served in the military during various wars, including WW2) many of them already have been more at risk than the majority of these chicken hawks, especially 5 times deferred Cheney.

Lie #4:
This was the world in which al-Qaeda was seeking nuclear technology, and A. Q. Khan was selling nuclear technology on the black market.

The first part is factually correct. Of course they were 'seeking' nuclear technology (lots of evil men desire such things, but when it comes to nuclear threats, Al Qaeda at the height of it's power DID NOT COMPARE to Musharraf's Pakistan (who HAS nuclear capabilities) not to mention Korea and China), but again, there has been no credible reason to believe they ever came ANYWHERE NEAR the slightest bit of fissionable materials. In fact, the IAEA said that there have been about 375 cases of nuclear smuggling over the past decade, but none have involved anything close to enough fissionable material to construct a nuclear weapon. (and never mind the HUGE issue of DELIVERING the mythical weapon) This is where the cowardly lies get really thick. If they TRULY believed that this was a threat, WHY DID THEY MAKE ABSOLUTELY NO SUBSTANTIAL MOVES TO SECURE OUR PORTS? Yet he uses this as justification for violating the constitution and US law. As for Khan selling nuclear technology 'on the black market', things get scary funny. (not funny ha-ha)

Fact #1:
"Nuclear technology" is not a small undertaking. The thought of Al Qaeda setting up centrifuges and other required elements to construct a nuclear weapon is completely LUDICROUS. This is how much credit Cheney gives even his supporters, and yet they still lap it up. I mean this is just idiotic in the extreme.

Fact #2:
In September 2005, Musharraf revealed that after two years of questioning Khan — which the Pakistani government insisted to do itself without outside intervention — that they had confirmed that Khan had supplied centrifuge parts to North Korea. WE ONLY HAD Musharraf's WORD that Khan was responsible for attempting to trade Pakistan's nuclear technology to Korea.

Fact #3:
Since 2005, and particularly in 2006, there have been renewed calls by IAEA officials, senior U.S. congressmen, EC politicians, and others to make Khan available for interrogation by IAEA investigators, given lingering skepticism about the "fullness" of the disclosures made by Pakistan regarding Khan's activities. In the U.S., these calls have been made by elected U.S. lawmakers rather than by the U.S. Department of State. You see, the Bush administration made NO ATTEMPT to deal with this potentially HUGE actual (as opposed to the IMAGINED threat of say, Iraq) THREAT, despite being supposed allies with the extremely questionable Musharraf.

Fact #4:
Khan now says that it was actually our supposed ally Musharraf who was behind the attempts to sell nuclear technology.

The supreme audacity of Cheney to make this argument should anger us all.

Huge LIE #5:
We turned special attention to regimes that had the capacity to build weapons of mass destruction, and might transfer such weapons to terrorists.

(SEE LIE #4!!!!)
Cheney has no shame, and shame on those who prop up and apologize for this man.

Lie #6:
You can look at the facts and conclude that the comprehensive strategy has worked, and therefore needs to be continued as vigilantly as ever. Or you can look at the same set of facts and conclude that 9/11 was a one-off event - coordinated, devastating, but also unique and not sufficient to justify a sustained wartime effort.

I have yet to see or hear ANY facts that support the first conclusion, and I challenge ANYONE and EVERYONE to find some. Come on, I dare you!

Lie #7:
In seeking to guard this nation against the threat of catastrophic violence, our Administration gave intelligence officers the tools and lawful authority they needed to gain vital information.

See the previous lies, as there still has been no CREDIBLE threat of 'catastrophic violence'.

The claim of lawful authority is completely empty. Here are the relevant laws, etc.:

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and !! make rules concerning captures !! on land and water. - Article one, section 8 (DEFINING THE POWERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH) This is the 'Capture Clause' This power covers enemy persons as well as property. This alone repudiates the authority claimed by the administration to legalize torture, never mind that their argument was extremely spurious and will not hold up under the scrutiny of the Congress or the courts.

No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat or war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture. -Reagan's signing statement on the UN Convention Against Torture (ratified into US law by Reagan)

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. - Article one, section 9 The United States Constitution

...nor shall any PERSON be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, !! nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law !!; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. - Amendment V, The United States Constitution

Military code of conduct: It is a violation of the Geneva Convention to place a prisoner under physical or mental duress, torture or any other form of coercion in an effort to secure information. I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free.

Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Article two, The United States Constitution, concerning the duties of the President of the United States.

Now, on to 'Vital information' even supposing that the OLC had the authority to legalize torture (they didn't), and that it wasn't completely opposed as a matter of principle by the framers of the constitution (it was), and that it wasn't just plain evil sadism and a crime against all humanity (it was), so far as has been testified on in Congress, as well as the public statements by former interrogators, it DID NOT AND DOES NOT PROCURE RELIABLE INFORMATION.

I wasn't going to get into this, but as long as I've come this far, let's examine the OLC's spurious argument that these 'enhanced interrogation techniques are not torture'.

Please read the relevant memos. This is how I sum up their arguments.
Their arguments are based upon two suppositions:

Argument 1. Since it is legal to waterboard SEAL trainees in SEER school, then it is legal to waterboard suspected terrorists.

a: The US Constitution in regards to due process of law and habeus corpus is quite clear. Feel free to go back and read them. You don't need to be a lawyer to understand them.
b: SEAL trainees undergo training VOLUNTARILY.
c: The 'techniques' as they were applied to the suspected terrorists bore no resemblance to the extremely controlled conditions in SEER school.
d: The SEER instructor that they consulted as an expert on this technique told them in no uncertain terms that this is torture and would be illegal if used in an official capacity.

Argument 2. They parse the words 'prolonged' and 'severe', having somehow come to the inexplicable conclusion that pain and fear have to be 'prolonged' in order to be considered severe physical and mental suffering. Actually, parse is too kind. They flat out mutilated the words.

Lastly, even if none of these arguments swayed you think about this:

When terrorists are held indefinitely in various makeshift and secret prisons, tried in secret tribunals, and refused the due process of law, we make them political prisoners.

When they are held in Federal prisons, tried in official US courts, and given the full due process of law, they are Criminals.

It is whithin all our power to turn these political prisoners back into the criminals we have good reason to believe they are.

I could go on and on, but is there really any point? I continues to astound me that this 'man' has any credibility whatsoever. We need courage and moral principle such as John Adams demonstrated when he defended the soldiers accused in the Boston Massacre despite his disdain for the British occupation. We need for the Republicans to assist in cleaning up the mess they enabled.

If we clean our own house, America gets to tell the rest of the world it was just some evil people that subverted the will of the nation. If we don't take responsibility and clean our own house, then the World gets to say that America is at risk of becoming a rogue state, the principles upon which our power rests will be compromised, and WW1 and WW2 and all those that died in those wars will have been for naught. It's that simple.

If Pelosi or any other person is guilty of an enabling role (in the use of torture), then by all means they should be investigated and prosecuted as appropriate. If we do not prosecute the individuals, then every single American is guilty of War Crimes. Silence gives consent.

Final thoughts and relevant statements of values and principles:

"The greatest tyrannies are always perpetrated in the name of the noblest causes." -- Thomas Paine

"Is an enemy so execrable that, though in captivity, his wishes and comforts are to be disregarded and even crossed? I think not. It is for the benefit of mankind to mitigate the horrors of war as much as possible." - Thomas Jefferson

"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." -- Samuel Adams

"Not only your Officers, and Soldiers have been treated with a Tenderness due to Fellow Citizens, & Brethren; but even those execrable Parricides [traitors] whose Counsels & Aid have deluged their Country with Blood, have been protected from the Fury of a justly enraged People." George Washington

If there is a man, woman or child in America who can read these depositions (of how Britain treated prisoners) without resentment and horror, that person has no soul, or a very wicked one. - John Adams (Just imagine what he'd think of his America in the 2000's)

Military code of conduct: It is a violation of the Geneva Convention to place a prisoner under physical or mental duress, torture or any other form of coercion in an effort to secure information. I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free.

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." -- Thomas Paine

No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat or war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture. / Each State Party is required either to prosecute torturers who are found in its territory or to extradite them to other countries for prosecution. -signing statement by Reagan / UN Convention Against Torture (ratified into US law by Reagan)

If you made it all the way through this, kudos! I hope it wasn't too incoherent.

This latest posting in the "Lamborn Files" comes via the esteemed Colorado Independent (see the Extended Post Text).  Where we learn that the lesser Congressman from Colorado Springs has pronounced his policy for providing Veterans Administration (VA) benefits only to deserving (according to his confused definition) veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and standing against his delusional tide of undeserving vets suffering from PTSD.

Wendy Norris lays it out pretty clean and to the point reporting this story.  But, there's the rest of the story to consider.  Lamborn's conduct is an indictment both of his inadequacy to represent the people of the heavily military 5th CD, but also of his Party's penchant to picking, choosing (discriminating) and ultimately denying the right of Americans to adequate healthcare.

Perhaps in earlier decades a Congressman could get away with making such statements.  In the age of C-SPAN such an allowance and forgiveness for being horrifically wrong cannot go unanswered and without penalty.  While it is shocking that Lamborn would disregard the pleas of the supporting Veterans organizations, the silence of those groups in response to Lamborn’s offense is an even greater indictment of their often brazen Conservative posturing.

It is fortunate that America is not facing a Republican controlled US House.  With the likes of Lamborn in charge such a deserving and important piece of legislation could very well have been defeated.  Don’t hold your breath waiting for the national vets groups to thank the Democratic Congress, or criticize a Republican.

This is a clear example of the long-running self-destructive practices of the veterans and military advocacy groups.  Regardless of the truth and obvious merits of Democratic introduced policies and legislation it is all too often the reaction of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign War and others to side with the Republicans who have inexplicably sided not with soldiers and veterans, but with off-shore defense contractors and mercenaries.

   Read More »

The past few months have provided a dizzying series of messages in the blogosphere praising or persecuting the new President of the United States (POTUS). Thankfully, Salon.com produced an “over the nation” report on the Republican Party today that deserves more attention, and a more in-depth analysis (from yours truly, naturally).

Here’s the Salon.com link - The state (by state) of the GOP

Once again, Dick Wadhams’ penchant for media attention provides the clue for how to defeat him and continue the GOP decline:

"This notion that Colorado has suddenly become a Democratic state is preposterous. I think Democrats who have a grip on reality know that." -- State GOP chairman Dick Wadhams

The lesson from Dick is a hard and true fact of politically strategy from today to 2012, and unfortunately, too many high level Democratic leaders are positively oblivious to the concept. While basking in the glory of Barack Obama’s victory, I am seeing too many messages ignoring recent losses and weaknesses going into future ballots. This kind of complacency and false posturing is a formula for a disaster in the 2010 General Election.

Salon.com is absolutely correct by highlighting the dominance of the GOP at the county and community level. Even in Larimer County, the Democratic Party leadership is mute on the loss of a seat on the Board of County Commissioners. Reveling in the glory of former Democratic Party Chair Betsy Markey defeating Marilyn Musgrave is apparently too intoxicating to take a clear look at the dangers of the political landscape.

   Read More »

The most recent addition to the GOP dog-pack nipping at the heels of Congresswomen-Elect Betsy Markey, CU Regent Thomas J. Lucero, is having an identity, or at least residency, crisis. According to his CU Regent biography he lives in Johnstown. But, the press release he sent to the Loveland Reporter-Herald includes (R-Loveland) after his name (see the extended text).

According to the Managing Editor of the Reporter-Herald those 10-characters between parentheses are sufficient evidence to tout him as the "home town" candidate.  This is the second time that the Reporter-Herald has announced his candidacy in the past two-weeks crediting him as a Loveland resident.

Since the newspaper doesn’t seem to understand investigative journalism, or even the need to confirm information sent by politicians in a press release, I made a few checks.  First of all other Colorado newspapers have reported Mr. Lucero’s home as Johnstown.  Then there is the information on his CU Regent biography that lists his home as, surprise, Johnstown.

The CU Regent biography goes a little further to specify that Mr. Lucero is a Johnstown businessman and civic leader.  So while it is getting hard to figure out which former dairy farm is now part of Johnstown, or which corn-field is Loveland’s $6 Million dollar investment in the future, a person with ambitions for the US Congress should know what address to go to at the end of the day.

When he ran for CU Regent Tom knew that he lived in Johnstown.  The Colorado Secretary of State record shows his campaign committee address from the 1997 campaign season as 1015 WS 1ST ST/PO BOX 921 JOHNSTOWN, CO 80534.  That’s the same Post Office box that’s on the CU Regent Biography.

Further evidence of Mr. Lucero’s inaccuracy in the press release to the Reporter-Herald is found through the Dex.com online telephone directory.  No surprise here that there is no listing for Thomas J., Tom or “T” Lucero in Loveland.  This is inconclusive since Dex doesn’t account for the phenomenon of people with only a cellphone and no landline at their home.

Next in my bag of tricks is the Larimer County Assessor website for property records.  It’s reasonable to believe that an independently wealthy pizza magnate would own his home.  Curiously, a search for any person with the last name of Lucero owning property in the County doesn’t show a Thomas in Loveland, but there is one in Fort Collins.  Sorry, for dragging that guy into this mess.

So, I guess it comes down to this.  Almost a month before Betsy Markey is even provided the respect and courtesy of being sworn-in as a Member of Congress ( “MC” as my former Congressman and professor is known to say) we have the curious case of a GOP wanna-be getting ready for the 2010 contest.

The preponderance of evidence points to his home being in Johnstown.  Yet, he sends a press release to a Loveland newspaper claiming to reside in that community.  I can’t tell if he’s really seeking a higher elected office, or merely a different path to succeeding Marilyn Musgrave with an appearance in Newsweek magazine’s “The Dignity Index:  The Biggest Losers.” (http://www.newsweek.com/id/176413?from=rss)   Read More »

As of Wed. 11/26 at 6:00 am the responses to this Impeachment OpEd had grown to over 1,246

The right wingers of both the Democrats and Republican parties were doing their best to ruin the discussion and diss the Constitution. They posted garbage using fake names which kept the right wing Dem/GOP messages on top. For instance the message "Blah.. Blah... Blah... this gets old" repeated many times really got in the way of real discussion. Regardless this is a record for comments on that paper for an impeachment discussion. It is a marvel that the Editorial Board allowed the article to be published.

Our thanks to everyone who read it and commented at the newspaper.

-----------------------------------------------

PLEASE: FORWARD TO YOUR LISTS NOW ! Thanks e.

Suggest we all read and comment on this Pro-Impeachment op-ed piece
in the Detroit Free Press today. Earlier the better. Getting to 1,000+ comments might help.

Interestingly it is placed high on the paper's website. Is the paper now getting behind impeachment???

The comments have tripled to over 500 in 2 hours.

Please add your pro-impeachment hearings comment and forward to your lists asap.

Thanks

John

John H Kennedy, Denver CO
impeach Colorado Coalition


For economy's sake,
Pelosi needs to push for impeachment now

BY ROCHELLE RILEY Nov. 25, 2008


For economy's sake,
Pelosi needs to push for impeachment now


Rep. Nancy Pelosi's ineffectiveness became clear the day she became Speaker of the House and immediately announced that there would be no impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney.
Advertisement

Guided by politics, she said leading investigations into just how much the Bush administration did - and did wrong - would be divisive. What she didn't express was her worry that too many Democrats faced elimination from the House if they took on the difficult task of proving who knew what, when.

But Congress is running out of time to finally make the Bush administration own up to its actions for eight years. If Congress isn't careful, the president who already has issued 171 pardons could also pardon every appointee and employee he has ever had - and their dogs. And then Americans will never find out what happened to our country over the past eight years.

Pelosi wouldn't have to start from scratch: Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the bravest member of Congress, introduced legislation 11 months ago to impeach the president and vice president. Last January, the House gave a first reading of one of those articles of impeachment. Our own Rep. John Conyers, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, joined 38 other representatives to sponsor HR 635, which would form a committee to look into whether there are grounds for impeachment. Revive that effort!

Last week, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York, submitted a resolution demanding that Bush stop issuing "pre-emptive pardons of senior officials in his administration during the final 90 days of office."

Nadler said in news reports that he was moved to action by the president's "widespread abuses of power and potentially criminal transgressions against our Constitution" and that he wanted to prevent the "undeserved pardons of officials who may have been co-conspirators in the president's unconstitutional policies, such as torture, illegal surveillance and curtailing of due process for defendants."

Nadler is storming the beach; others should join him.

If Congress moves quickly and forces the president to focus on impeachment, then he won't have so much time to push through last-minute regulatory changes that will continue to hurt our country and our ideals. He already has pushed deregulation that would allow employers to talk directly with employees' doctors and allow power companies to build polluting facilities close to national parks.

Anyone worried that our congressional representatives can't tie their shoes and chew gum at the same time, or cannot focus on the economic crisis and impeachment hearings at the same time, will find that many answers to our economic and global defense problems will come from those hearings.

The only question I have for Nancy Pelosi is this: What are we waiting for?

---------------

If the House Democrats fail to hold Bush and Cheney accountable, they are unlikely to get you
Single payer Healthcare or anything else that will take courage to accomplish.

---------------

For several years now the evidence of the Alberto Gonzales gang's manipulation of the Federal Civil Service within the Department of Justice has been well publicized. The fact that right-wing political ideologues were being approved for career professional positions based on social issue orthodoxy, rather than competence and qualifications, is yet another blight on the scandalous legacy of the current occupant of the White House.

Today's report in the Washington Post reveals that this practice of burrowing right-wing political operatives into the Civil Service is also in-place in the scientific agencies. Perhaps this is the mis-administration's strategy for making permanent the Republican obsession for combating the truth of science with their twisted political and social priorities.

The Center for Public Integrity is soon to release their "Broken Government" study. The fund-raising teaser release promises 120 specific cases. This kind of investigative effort to hold the Bushies accountable as the mis-administration fades into oblivion is crucial.  Revealing and acting on the depth and breadth of this conspiracy is vital to the success of any reforms and corrects to the offenses of the past eight years.

The Obama-Biden Administration will be stretched and tested to uncover and flush-out these right-wing activists who have burrowed their way into the Civil Service like so many termites. The evidence of these infestations must be met with quick action.

Executive appointees selected for positions above these people must be prepared to take every possible action within the laws and regulations of the Civil Service structure to either get them dismissed, or make it too hard for them to stay and accomplish their nefarious goals. Attention to the selection of the Administrator of the Office of Personnel Management will be a key to success in this area.

Various Executive agency inspectors general must be supported in investigating these political opportunists. IF they are found to be substantially unqualified for the job description that they were hired to fill, then it should be clear grounds for dismissal as an unlawful appointment.

The Obama-Biden appointees who are saddled with these burdens must enforce clear, precise and enforceable performance standards. When confronted with qualitative requirements to enforce and perform based upon laws and regulations that these infiltrators are likely to hold ambitions to undermine and avoid, could more easily force them to resign.

Even in its demise the minions of the current mis-administration are appearing to be increasingly unwilling to follow the current occupant of the White House and the vice out of Washington. This certainly adds to the challenge and urgency of establishing the new administration's executive leadership. Too many months and too many acting, caretaker, leaders in the executive departments will make it all the harder to untangle the tentacles of the Bush parasites.

   Read More »

Obama advisers:
Bush era war criminals will walk.

No Accountability for Bush, CHENEY, Rumsfeld, Addington,
and the rest of these scum.

IF THAT PISSES YOU OFF

Call 800-828-0498
Ask for each of Colorado's Congressmen in turn and
tell them to file their own Impeachment Resolution
and to do it THIS WEEK. (Hint: leave a voicemail at night)

IF enough Congressmen file single crime impeachment resolutions during the same week (this week) it will get the attention of the Media.

Yes the MEDIA got Obama elected, and now are much more likely to pay attention to impeachment.

WE MUST GET PEOPLE RILED UP ENOUGH TO

DEMAND IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS

NOW


John Kennedy

Impeach Colorado Coalition ImpeachCO.com

QUESTION: HOW MANY US SOLDIERS HAVE TO BE KILLED AND MAIMED FOR THE BUSH/CHENEY WMD LIES
Before Colorado Voters (you and me) bother to call the state's US Congressmen and Demand Impeachment Hearings NOW?

Hint: Over 4,197 Killed
Over 30,000 Maimed (some reports say it's over 70K)

..
....

The American Ambassador to Iraq and the Iraqi Foreign Minister have signed an agreement requiring US Forces to leave Iraq. No, this isn't another predictive "dream" story of the pending Obama Administration; the Bushies did (or, allowed) this.

So much for all of the GOP talking points and faux news air-time devoted to "...no arbitrary deadlines." The current news sound-bites are full of controversy and contradiction from inside Iraq. But, the American conservatives are being surprisingly quiet.   Read More »

Bob Schaffer's out of touch, wrong on critical issues rap-sheet grows by the day. I found this latest charge in Ed Quillen's column in the Sunday Denver Post.

Read the whole column online at http://www.denverpost.com/quillen/ci_10799075

or scroll down to the extended post text.

The Referendum A test still carries a lot of weight with me.  Once again here's a case where Bob Schaffer sided with big-monied interests and against Colorado farmers, ranchers and communities.

Hopefully, he'll be sliding into the dustbin of Colorado political history by 10:00 PM on November 4th.  Being too cozy with the "drill baby, drill" crowd of oilies is bad enough, but working on the wrong side of water policy is unforgiveable.

PS - If you get a chance, drop a complimentary email to Ed (his email link at at the end of the Extended Post Text).  It is so hard to find something worthy of praise in the Denver Post these days that we should encourage Ed to continue his good work.

   Read More »

Two years ago I was fortunate to see Barbara O'Brien and Jeanne Ritter devote some of their campaign time to the cause of military families. It is so good to see that continue.

Politico.com has posted a great story that is popping-up in several of my veterans e-newsletters. The example and precedent that Michelle Obama is setting is not only the right thing to do, but holds great promise for correcting a decades-old problem within the Democratic Party.

Here's the link, and the full story is in the Extended Post Text.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14733.html

I continue to see signs and symptoms of a Colorado Democratic Party that hasn't figured out how to get past the Vietnam-era paradigms of domination by anti-war activists. Perhaps with Michelle's example we'll see more Democratic Party officers who will behave as if they are not afraid of the Pledge of Allegiance or National Anthem, and will remember to include either/both of those in party functions.

The barrier between Democratic events and spoken prayer is lowly crumbling. Releasing the anxiety for Democratic candidates to speak openly about religion.

But, there are still too many occassions where a Democratic event will include a 10-foot tall American flag and silence on that final Patriotic step of including the Pledge or Anthem. Democrats who have served in the Armed Forces and would like to continue their service in political office are often dismayed and disappointed by this behavior.

There are too many really nice renditions of the National Nathem available to not allow the 2-minutes it takes to play one on a tape deck or over the PA system. Yet every time a group meets, and the American flag is in the room, the failure to make this Patriotic effort will disappoint a veteran, offend a veteran's family member or friend, and the favorite charge by the opposition of Democrats being "un-patriotic" is perpetuated.   Read More »

I was just listening to former Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder on a radio show. He made a critical and brilliant observation about John McCain.

His evaluation of the Sarah Palin selection rests on that decision as an indicator of how McSame would later decide on the people to fill the other leadership positions in a supposed McSame mis-administration. This is a powerful indictment of a candidate for president of the US when the nation so despirately needs a clear change of direction.

The specter of Sarah Palin equivalent appointments throughout the US Executive Branch shows no chance of reforming, and certainly not reversing, the criminal excesses of the past seven years. There will be no resolution to the US Attorney firings, and little hope of removing the fraudulently hired radical right-wingers who have been peppered throughout the Department of Justice to undermine, rather than enforce, the law.

This demonstrated decision-making pattern by John McCain is a screaming warning to America. No other fact shines so brightly than the selection of Sarah Palin to confirm that McSame is the incarnation of a third, and perhaps more devastating, term for the G.W. Bush policies.

Considering everything you find important, think your retired relatives who will be hurt if McCain succeeds and leads America down the path of more for the wealthiest and less for the rest. Victory in the race for the White House is critical, but top to bottom electoral victories on the ballot is equally important for our communities and state.

This was not the one-word headline I expected to see in this morning's Foreign Policy magazine Morning Brief email.  Similarly, the Financial Times brought gloomy articles confirming the depth of the current fiscal decline.

 

"Falling by more than 20 percent over seven straight trading days, the U.S. stock market's recent performance now meets the standard definition of a crash."  - FP Morning Brief, 10 October 2008

 

this is the first attention grabbing fact from FP.  Realistically a seven point consecutively repeated 20% downward trend line is what I've always called a "death-slide." 

 

It's a very effective way to get the attention of executive decision-makers and mid-level managers.  I've seen motivation and attention to detail factors show a marked increase. 

"Investors have lost an estimated $8.4 trillion dollars so far this year, with the Dow Jones industrial average sinking another 678 points or 7.3 percent Thursday."  - FP Morning Brief, 10 October 2008 

My proposal is to add this figure to the existing National Debt burden enacted by the current occupant of the White House.  In addition to being a condemning legacy of this presidency, it should be a lesson in who, and how, to elect the next president.

 

Personally, I'm watching the value of my supposedly solid Federal employee Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account in a similar decline.  Holding a large percentage of my shares in a Standard & Poors 500 fund isn’t such a happy place at the moment.

One of the most disagreable experiences I've had during this year's political campaign came when national, and local, groups viciously attacked the integrity, motivations and message of General Petraeus. Yet, on Wednesday the conservative Heritage Foundation heard policies and concepts from Petraeus that confirm the campaign platform of Barack Obama.

The complete story from the "Washington Independent" is in the Extended Post Text (via Foreign Policy magazine's Daily Brief service). This is an online news outlet associated with Colorado Confidential.

This can't stay a minor story. Petraeus' comments must be shared, and the Obama campaign should advertise these policies and tactics with enthusiasm.

Part of the value in this this is seeing a competent national leader, Obama, openly discuss a strategic vision and mission for the US military.  Now we're seeing that a widely praised general is able to accept that mission and describe the operational policies and tactics to accomplish what is apparently Barack Obama's security policy in opposition to McCain's irrational Iraq fixation.

   Read More »

Sarah Palin's training and experience as a TV personality dominated her performance last night. It was a theatrical performance. She stuck to her script and provided no more than the kind of idle chatter expected of a small-market TV news sub-anchor.

We now have the answer why she has been so distant and untouchable for the past few weeks. The McCain team has been prepping and coaching her at an unprecedented level.

She did not demonstrate the depth and scope needed to rise to the level of serious consideration of filling the job of VP, and certainly not reach any level of assurance that she is competent to follow fragile John McCain into the Oval Office. The GOP is so off-course to continue to promote her presence on the ticket as qualified in any sense of the word.

The dodge and weave she demonstrated throughout the night was infuriating. The WingNuts succeeded in their pre-emptive intimidation of Gwen Ifill. Necessary and justified follow-ups and clarifications were obviously by-passed by Ifill to avoid post-debate vilification by the Radical Right.

Palin's few clear pronouncements on security and foreign policy issues were deplorable. The casual mention of moving the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem is a toxic position that surely pleases the American Radical Religious Right (i.e., Talibangelist Mullah Dobson), but is an idea that has been known for decades to be immeasurably inflammatory to every Muslim influenced government in the world.

By side-stepping the question on nuclear weapons and nuclear non-proliferation she definitively disqualified herself in this election. The balance between deterrence and pre-emption has been horrifically blurred by the current mis-adminstration. Sarah made it even murkier.

Sarah Palin's performance last night was too close to the narrow, partisan message of the GOP Convention and totally devoid of any promise of potential to serve in the highest executive office. The best that could be offered is that she's now completed the crash course of study to be a good spokesperson for the McCain campaign. Competently reciting talking points with no further depth or capability.

A breaking story from "The Hill" (a Washington DC insider news source) shows that the gloves are coming off in the fear and smear based Republican anti-Obama campaign. This is a credible report of Republican Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (Georgia) using and then confirming that he intended to use the word "uppity" to describe Barack Obama.

The full story is in the extended text

This is not the first time that a GOP elected official has been suspected of uttering GOP "code words" seeking to enflame centuries-old racial hatred against Barack Obama. So, what we would have expected to be a classic Rove whisper campaign is coming into the open.

These are probably the end results of a string of disgusting "conservative" messages that have encouraged the kind of actions we have seen in Colorado ove th past week. From the Aurora Assassination Cell that GOP US Attorney Troy Eid is working so hard to dismiss as harmless, to the Loveland assassination caller that the newspaper is trying so hard to ignore, it's getting ugly.   Read More »

BREAKING - Sunday, September 7th 

Perhaps this should be counted as a media watch victory.  R-H editor Ken Amundson published a lengthy apology and signifcant policy change for the telephone call-in column.  Still, the R-H won't publish even their own editorials online.

 

In addition to the election season curtailment of political LTEs to 200-words, Amundson will not allow comments on individual candidates to be published in the call-in line column.  At least this could slow down the Right WingNut lies and slurs in one Colorado newspaper.

 

///original post/// 

Among the wide range of Colorado newspapers the Loveland Reporter-Herald rests in a unique place between hometown paper and loyal arm of a conservative media group. But, on Tuesday September 2, 2008 the R-H crossed a dubious line by publishing an anonymous telephone message claiming that assassinating Brack Obama is acceptable because he is inexperienced.

 "All you Democrats take what you're saying about Sarah Palin, and that's what all of us Republicans are saying about Obama.  He's way too inexperienced for the job.  I would much rather have a little inexperience at the number two position than the No. 1 position.  The only way to get rid of that experience in an inexperienced president is either by impeachment or assassination." (emphasis added)

Political commentary is expected in America, but advocating one of the worst crimes for the offense of "inexperience" is truly despicable.  By publishing this rant without edit, or disclaimer is an indictment of complacancy  and possibly even accessory by the Reporter-Herald.

 

In response to my my protest of this publication the Managing Editor of the R-H, Ken Amundson, provided this response:

I also reacted negatively when I read that comment this morning. I have taken steps internally to deal with it.

Ken Amundson

Today's edition of the R-H makes no mention of the offending comment.  It seems that Mr. Amundson's true definition of dealing with it internally is to ignore it and hope the issue dies.

 

Don’t look for this on the Reporter-Herald website.  It was originally published as part of the “R-H Line” feature for anonymous telephone calls.  They also do not publish letters to the editor on their websites.

 

The Extended Post Text holds the necessary information for others to join me in demanding that Ken Amundson and the Reporter-Herald take responsibility for this incident, cooperate with Federal authorities to determine if there really is a threat to Barack Obama, and publish an apology with a condemnation of inciting the public to illegal, criminal acts that undermine the political process in America.

   Read More »

Several email exposes regarding Sarah Palin have landed in my in-box. The most useful is the message from MoveOn.org (go to the extended Post Text).

I hope my mother, my wife and my teenage daughter will excuse this one - but, my initial reaction holds that McCain is having a post midlife crisis moment here. Now he gets to spend the rest of the campaign on stage with either a blonde or a brunette former beauty queen; sometimes both.

Considering the depth and experience available to him in the rest of the GOP universe I am completely baffled that there can be any other reason for this decision. I am now even more appreciative for the intelligent and practical decision by Barack Obama to grab Joe Biden as his VP running mate.

The supposed VP Debate won't be. With this line-up it is clear that candidate Palin will carefuly recite radical right wing talking points fed to her by the McCain handlers. Even if Biden were allowed in the format/rules to challenge her on any issues we'll hear nothing original.

Thus there could not be a more distinct choice between the two tickets. Looking at the "rap-sheet" provided by MoveOn, American voters can have no doubts of the radical and destructive policies and positions John McCain is accepting by filling the GOP ticket with Palin.   Read More »

I've just read a New York Times story from Wednesday that is a crushing blow to the Honor of my Army, and another indictment of the current occupant of the White House. While there have been previous reports of young soldiers and marines descending into criminal behavior, this report contends that a First Sergeant, a 20+ year professional, orchestrated murder in front of his troops who complacently stood by and watched the crime.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/world/middleeast/27abuse.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

This should not have happened. The list of Army Values ideals of professional and ethical conduct that have been violated in this incident are staggering. The possible charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice are equally broad and severe.

Although the criminals in uniform who committed these crimes appear to approaching their day in Courts Martial, I fear that the current mis-administration's depravations that inspired this conduct will never be held responsible. This is an arguable progression from the lies and deceit of the Iraq invasion decision, the dehumanization of the insurgents, the embrace of torture, and the "do whatever it takes" doctrine of the current occupant and his mis-administration.   Read More »